Getting ready to pull my kids out and I need some serious help!

[EarleneW]

A little background since I don't post much.....My ds(10) went to private kindergarten then we homeschooled for 2 years and last year he went to a Christian Community school where he went 2 days and we homeschooled 2 days, he is now in public 4th. My dd(7) homeschooled for kindergarten and 1st grade, but is now in public 1st grade again b/c of the birthday cutoff. Without going into much detail, PS was a huge mistake for my ds. So, we are planning to pull him out next week. He is strugling and a little behind in reading b/c of a few things, but basically he is testing exactly where he tested at the end of last year...he has not learned a thing this year "according to the tests". I am beyond frustrated.
I need some recommendations for sort of a back to phonics program to get him caught up on his reading. I was thinking of starting with Saxon 3 and then progressing into the Saxon Intervention. Has anyone done this yet? Or does anyone have any other recomendations?
Other then that, I am thinking I will pick back up with Saxon 54 and the other subjects I would have done had we stayed in FL and continued to HS this year.

Thanks for any help or suggestions you wise ladies may have!
~Earlene in GA

[Suzybearybake]

My 9yr old ds struggles with reading. We tried many phonics programs to no avail. What seems to finally be making a difference is All About Spelling in conjunction with BJU's reading program. For us it has helped tremendously.

[stephanie]

A little background since I don't post much.....My ds(10) went to private kindergarten then we homeschooled for 2 years and last year he went to a Christian Community school where he went 2 days and we homeschooled 2 days, he is now in public 4th. My dd(7) homeschooled for kindergarten and 1st grade, but is now in public 1st grade again b/c of the birthday cutoff. Without going into much detail, PS was a huge mistake for my ds. So, we are planning to pull him out next week. He is strugling and a little behind in reading b/c of a few things, but basically he is testing exactly where he tested at the end of last year...he has not learned a thing this year "according to the tests". I am beyond frustrated.
I need some recommendations for sort of a back to phonics program to get him caught up on his reading. I was thinking of starting with Saxon 3 and then progressing into the Saxon Intervention. Has anyone done this yet? Or does anyone have any other recomendations?
Other then that, I am thinking I will pick back up with Saxon 54 and the other subjects I would have done had we stayed in FL and continued to HS this year.

Thanks for any help or suggestions you wise ladies may have!
~Earlene in GA

I can't speak on the Saxon program, but we use Ordinary Parents Guide to teaching REading, and Explode the Code. I think they both complement each other well. There are many different programs that the moms use here,but I do know that a lot use Explode the Code as a compliment to their spine phonics program. I know it's a bit overwhelming right now, but this is a great place for guidance. Hope this helps a bit!

[Novafan]

The two programs that are working for us (as far as catch up goes) are:

1. Explode the Code (can start at whichever level he is at and progress from there)

2. And if you feel he is really struggling and behind, we LOVE the Primary Phonics books from EPS. My five year old started reading with this and I WISH my 7 year old had had them when he was 4/5. They build a tremendous amount of confidence with my boys.
http://www.epsbooks.com/dynamic/catalog/series.asp?seriesonly=357M

[EarleneW]

Thanks! I actually have a few Explode the Codes as well at OPG. I will give those a try first! Thanks again!

[Excelsior! Academy]

You could probably start with Saxon 5/4 and be fine. I would suggest the DIVE CD's to help him more fully understand the lessons. IMHO I think he might not like Saxon 3 as much at that age.

[mcconnellboys]

I don't know about Saxon intervention, but I agree with backing up a bit. We liked Phonics Pathways for phonics work.

Regena

[Claire]

I need some recommendations for sort of a back to phonics program to get him caught up on his reading. I was thinking of starting with Saxon 3 and then progressing into the Saxon Intervention. Has anyone done this yet? Or does anyone have any other recomendations?
~Earlene in GA


Actually, Saxon reading does not have a good reputation in reading circles. The best program I have found is ABeCeDarian (http://www.abcdrp.com/), which is a sound-to-sight approach developed by Michael Bend, a highly respected professional. He was the keynote speaker a few years ago at the IDA convention. ABeCeDarian has a very helpful email support group (http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/abecedarian/) also at http://groups.yahoo.com . I would recommend joining that email group and then using ABeCeDarian at home to teach reading.

We used the book "Reading Reflex" at home very successfully. ABeCeDarian uses the same approach but has developed better parent support materials, so it is more user-friendly.

[EarleneW]

Thanks for all the replies. I will definatly do the 54 for Math- we did Saxon 3 last year.
I was looking at the Saxon 3 for Phonics, but think I will check out the other suggestions first.